NEWS WAITAKI HERALD, AUGUST 6, 2014 Oamaru man faces historic abuse charges A 55-year-old Oamaru man is facing 48 historic sexual abuse and assault charges. The man was given name suppression when he appeared in the Timaru District Court before Judge Joanna Maze late yesterday. He faces charges of sexual viol- Missing out:EmmaPaton is one of thousands of Kiwis unable to fully experience CommonwealthGames coverage due to a lack of public broadcasting captioning. It may have been obvious what was happening in this Valerie Adams’ moment, but much of the running commentary is lost. Deaf miss much of Games’ action By NICOLA WOLFE A midst the muffled noises someone has won gold. Or at least you think so. Oamaru woman Emma Paton is among many New Zealanders faced with such a dilemma while watching Commonwealth Games coverage. Paton, a keen sportswoman who is profoundly deaf and has cochlear implants in both ears, relies heavily on closed captioning to gain essential information. The problem is, captioning for the games in New Zealand is non-existent. ‘‘While you can watch the images there is the frustration of knowing that you are missing lots of information,’’ Paton says. ‘‘There are wonderful sporting moments happening at the Commonwealth Games and it would be great to have it captioned especially when our New Zealand athletes are winning medals and doing personal bests. ‘‘Often the commentators will be giving more information about athletes and events than just placings and it would be good to know this information without having to rely on some- one else to tell you after it’s been said.’’ The lack of captioning avail- able for the event does not come as a surprise to the deaf community who have been calling for the New Zealand Government to legislate captioning since 2011. According to the Captioning Working Group (CWG) in 2012, public broadcasting captioning in New Zealand was available at a rate of 8 per cent over a 24 hour period, which was even lower than rates in Uganda. CWG chairwoman Louise Car- roll said after speaking to a number of people including the Minister for Broadcasting Craig Foss and representatives from NZ On Air, TVNZ and Sky TV, the rate has improved but it still compares poorly with the rest of the world. ‘‘The group has talked with a huge number of people asking that they introduce captioning legislation or introduce broadcast captioning over a 24 hour period and it has moved from eight per cent to approximately 24 per cent. ‘‘But it is stagnating at that level because without legislation it is at the good will of broadcasters and up to the gov- ernment to fund the captioning and it’s just not happening.’’ Recent reports broadcasters in Scotland have asked the deaf community to comment on the quality of games captioning has strengthened the group’s resolve, however. Carroll says the key to the issue is in the Government’s hands. ‘‘The captioning rate in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia all sit at 100 per cent and what drove them to achieving this was the introduction of legislation that required the broadcasters to fund the access service out of their profits. ‘‘Simple as that. The New Zea- land Government needs to amend the Telecommunications Act and the Broadcasting Act to ensure captioning is included but they are refusing, saying that Broadcasters need to be encouraged to do this voluntarily.’’ Carroll wrote a letter to Prime Minister John Key last week and is asking that others wanting to support the cause do the same. For more information on the Caption It campaign visit captionitnz.co.nz ation by rape (10 charges), sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection (19 charges), performing an indecent act with intent to offend (five charges), performing an indecent act (eight charges), indecent assault, attempted sexual violation by rape (two charges), attempted sexual violation by unlawful connection, assaulting a female and assault with a weapon. The offending is alleged to have occurred between 1999 and 2011. The man has been remanded on bail to reappear in the Timaru District Court on August 21. Terms of his bail included not travelling south of Timaru. Time to SALE End of season clearance Women’s Winter Fashion boots all reduced to clear. Broken sizes, end of lines, last pair bargains! Bresley Style “Samos” shown in red leather, also in black usually $325 Sale price $195 3 “LOVEME, LoE M Lovemy shoes oes” 79-81 Thames Street, Oamaru www.mcdiarmids.co.nz Ph 03 434 8815 A safety message from Network Waitaki A safety message from Network Waitaki See us on facebook Only a qualifi ed line-clearance Arborist 6164301AN The electricity company that Delivers power in North Otago is allowed to trim trees near power lines. Call Network Waitaki on 0800 400 200 for assistance. 6199738AA